Army All-American recap

Northern California had three participants in the US Army All-American game including two USC commits. All three were starters and had solid performances despite a 15-8 loss.

Justin Davis 6-foot-1, 194 pounds RB Lincoln (Stockton): Davis only had three carries, but flashed some nice talent. He ran through an arm tackle on his first carry for a ten yard gain and had a three yard run on the following play. The USC commit had another carry later in the game, but was stuffed without a gain to finish with 13 yards. Although it was only a brief viewing, Davis showed some good burst when he found a hole and seemed to be effective as an inside-out runner. He had a good feel for running routes, but could improve on his blocking.

Michael Hutchings 6-foot-2, 210 pounds LB De La Salle: The versatile linebacker showed good coverage skills and also made an impact on special teams. Hutchings had a crucial hit as the personal protector on the punt team to prevent a block and also contributed to a fake punt. He took a snap on fourth down and then handed it off on a reverse play to gain a first down.

On the defensive side, he had a nice open field tackle on a bigger running back and showed some good athleticism. His speed allowed him to cover running backs and tight ends in man coverage. The area where Hutchings seemed to struggle was handling bigger blockers in the run game. Although he is quite explosive to the ball carrier when sniffing out a play, he is a slightly smaller linebacker who could be handled by physical blocks. The USC commit Hutchings seems to be a weakside linebacker at the next level and could also find playing time on special teams.

Eddie Vanderdoes 6-foot-3, 305 pounds DT Placer: A one time USC commit, Vanderdoes recently decommitted from the Trojans to open up his recruitment. He might have had the most impressive game of the NorCal prospects highlighted by a sack in the second quarter.

Vanderdoes used a swim move and chased down an athletic quarterback in Jeremy Johnson to record the sack. He later had a play where he spun off a double team for an impressive stop in the backfield. Vanderdoes was constantly disrupting plays due to his relentless motor and quick burst off the snap. He is quite agile for his size and seemed to utilize a swim move multiple times. Although he saw double teams for most of the game, he showed his strength by pushing the pocket on numerous occasions. Vanderdoes is not the most athletic prospect, but as a defensive tackle he showed nice footwork and played with good leverage. He was awarded a "Game Ball" by Rivals.com after his performance.